Employment Law

Tips for Interviewing New Workers in the Construction Industry

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of hiring and firing a bad employee can equal 30 percent of the employee’s first-year potential earnings. Our St. Petersburg construction lawyers have seen how a few unfortunate hires can make a marked difference on your total earnings when calculating your profits at the end of the year. How can you ensure that you are only hiring well-intentioned, hardworking employees? It all starts with the first interview.

Interview Basics

The purpose of an interview is to assess a person for a specific job. It’s important to follow certain institutions of interviewing to uncover the truth about a subject, namely:

Let them talk: if you never give the interviewee the chance to talk, you’ll never learn anything about them. Don’t be self-conscious when asking questions. Self-conscious interviewers have a tendency to overthink the difficulty of their questions, or they might think they aren’t being clear, just ask the question simply and wait for an answer. Don’t rush the interviewee.

Prepare questions in advance: as an employer, you know what you expect from an employee for a given position. Drafting a standardized set of questions for each position will help you ensure that you are asking all of the important questions during an interview.

Take notes: record information to help you recall the specifics of the interview while simultaneously showing the interviewee that you truly care about what they are saying.

Interview Pitfalls

The process of interviewing new candidates for your job site can be a daunting task. You have to meet with countless potential hires to find the best candidate, meanwhile presenting yourself in a way that encourages interviewees to want to work for you. You don’t want to be too stringent, but you don’t want to become a doormat either.

Didn’t pre-screen workers: you can save a lot of time and money by pre-screening potential hires using a simple phone call. Ask a few targeted questions to gauge their knowledge and experience before proceeding with an in-person interview.

Unrealistic expectations: always try to empathize with your potential hires. Does the earnings potential fit the position? Is the opportunity competitive? Are all of your baseline requirements necessary? It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on job listings posted by your competitors to see if your expectations are unrealistic.

Make up your mind: if you take too long to select a hire, you may lose them to another company. Just as you interviewed dozens of new candidates for a job, those candidates each interviewed with dozens of companies looking for new employees. It’s always preferable to act on great talent.

If you would like to speak with a St. Petersburg construction attorney, please contact us today.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.